"Morning~"
"Ah! Good morning, Ikki-san!"
"Yo, Ikki! Morning! You suddenly took a day off yesterday at this time of year, we were worried about you!"
As I stepped into the classroom and greeted them, Issei and Asia replied warmly.
"Sorry about that. Got hit with a sudden stomachache."
"Stomachache? You, of all people, skipping school for that?"
"If it were just a mild one, I wouldn't have taken the day off, but I took a real gut punch, y'know?"
"I see. Well, that makes sense. I mean, it's not good, but still... I was worried you might've been attacked by someone, like the Church or a fallen angel…"
"Relax, neither the Church nor any fallen angels attacked me."
Well, technically, it was the White Dragon Emperor, your rival, who did…
"Wait, forget the Church for now, what's this about fallen angels?"
"Ah, right. Actually, I need your help with something related to that. The truth is, "
And so, Issei gave me a quick rundown of what had been going on.
"I see… So basically, to keep Yuuto from going rogue, the Church warriors were convinced to work with you guys by destroying the stolen Excalibur swords. But that got found out by your leaders, and both you and Saji ended up getting punished... Still, wasn't Koneko-chan there when you fought that stray exorcist, Freed, was it? Even with Excalibur, I figured she'd be strong enough to handle him. How'd he get away?"
Honestly, with Koneko in the mix, I thought they'd have the upper hand, even considering Excalibur.
"Well, it was Kiba's fight, after all. He faced off against Freed one-on-one at first, but Freed's speed was insane, way faster than Kiba. The fight gradually turned against him. It wasn't until Irina and Xenovia joined in that things evened out. But then, Valper, Kiba's nemesis, showed up and called for a retreat. Freed threw a flash bomb and vanished."
"Koneko-chan said that the flash bomb was packed with all kinds of jamming, disrupting tracking spells, communications, and the works. She couldn't follow his presence at all after that. And well… after that, like I said, Rias-senpai and Sona busted us, and me and Saji got our butts handed to us."
Wait, Freed was that strong? Huh. Hard to tell just from hearing it…
"So? You want me to help destroy Excalibur too?"
"Yeah. If we don't wrap this up fast, Kiba might do something reckless."
"…Still, are you sure it's okay to tell me all this? Seems like classified stuff."
Won't Rias-senpai punish him again?
"She said it's fine if I tell you. With fallen angel leaders involved, she figured you should at least be on alert, though she didn't say I should ask for your help…"
That's not really permission, dude. You're totally getting spanked again.
"Well, I don't mind helping out. But after that, have you heard anything from Yuuto or those Church girls?"
Just then…
"Hmm? What do you mea—"
"Why the serious faces, guys?!"
"Matsuda! Motohama!"
"Morning, Asia-chan! And hey, Issei, Ikki."
"Yeah, morning."
"Good morning, Matsuda-san, Motohama-san."
"Oh come on! What are we, background characters now?"
Well, yeah, you kinda got completely sidelined there.
"What are you talking about, Issei?! In the presence of the goddess-like, golden-haired beauty that is Asia-chan, all other men are background characters."
"Exactly. As Motohama said, we aren't just pests clinging to her, we're furniture, respectfully admiring her from the sidelines. That's true friendship."
"How is that friendship?! That's way too hard to understand!"
Why are they acting like they're in some 'Good grief…' manga panel?
"So what were you guys talking about so seriously? If Issei's involved, I bet it's about boobs."
"…Yeah. Lately, I've had this dilemma. If I had to choose between fondling Rias-senpai's boobs or Akeno-san's… which one should I go for?"
Wow. Impressive deflection. Actually, no, that was a real answer. He's just being himself.
"You bastard, Issei! That's the most luxurious problem I've ever heard of!"
"For firmness and shape, Rias-senpai wins. But for size and softness, Akeno-san takes the crown. Especially the way the rings at the tips have this refined Yamato Nadeshiko elegance to them…"
"The tips!?"
"The rings!?"
What does that even mean, elegant nipples!?
"Uuuugh! Issei-san, that's not fair! You always talk about the President or Akeno-san! I may not win in the size department, but I've got other charms! So… so… please touch my boobs too!"
"KYAAAAAAAAAA!!"
The moment Asia made her bold declaration, it echoed across the classroom, and clearly, the other girls heard her.
"Die, Hyoudou. Die, Hyoudou. Die, Hyoudou. Die, Hyoudou…"
"Hyoudou, explode. Hyoudou, explode. Hyoudou, explode…"
Wow. The curses from the male students are intense.
And so, Asia was promptly taken, well, abducted, by the girls and thoroughly interrogated.
====================
"…So, you haven't heard from Yuuto either?"
"You too? So the same on your end?"
"Yes. Not a word from him since."
"With the two of them at his side, I thought a stray priest wouldn't be an issue… But I heard that the priest got a massive power boost from the holy swords."
"And then there's the fallen angels still hiding somewhere in town. I've had my familiars scouring the area since, but no luck so far."
Just as Akeno-senpai said that, a magic circle lit up by Rias-senpai's ear.
"…I see. I'll head there immediately. Everyone, one of my familiars just found one of the holy sword wielders collapsed at the hilltop park. Akeno, contact Sona. I'll prepare the teleportation circle."
"Yes, President."
Akeno-senpai contacted Sona, and we all teleported right away.
====================
At the hilltop park, just as night was falling, the first thing we saw was a girl with twin chestnut pigtails, her body torn and her clothes in tatters.
"Irina!"
Recognizing her at once, Issei rushed over and cradled her in his arms.
"Who would do something this terrible?!"
Asia arrived a moment later and immediately began healing her with Twilight Healing, the smile of a saint.
Her recovery magic was fast as ever, and thankfully the wounds weren't too deep. In less than ten seconds, the physical injuries had fully healed.
Then, noticing Issei, Irina opened her eyes weakly and spoke.
"I-Issei-kun… you… came for me…"
"Of course I did! Irina, are you alone? What about Kiba and Xenovia?"
"They… they got away… I was the only one who didn't… make it in time…"
"Who did this?"
"Be… careful…"
With that, she passed out again, just as President Sona, Vice President Tsubaki, and Saji arrived via teleportation.